Houthis set “three conditions” for Saudi Arabia
Shafaq News- Sanaa
Yemen’s Houthi movement (Ansarallah) outlined three conditions for Saudi Arabia, including responding to what it called a blockade with a blockade, targeting Saudi military deployments wherever they are located, and defending Yemen’s sovereignty against any incursions.
In a statement, the Houthis claimed that no Saudi vessel could pass through the affected waterways and that they had targeted eight Saudi oil tankers since announcing a ban on maritime traffic to and from the Kingdom on July 20. “Five of the vessels were targeted in the Red Sea, while three came under attack in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.”
The group also reported preventing 48 Saudi oil tankers from crossing regional waters. Thirty-four were stopped in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, while 14 were prevented from passing through the Red Sea, according to the statement.
It detailed nine military operations targeting Yanbu, Najran, Jizan, Abha and oil supplies in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, describing them as retaliation for Saudi strikes on Sanaa airport. It also reported 14 operations against Saudi military deployments in Al-Ruwaik, Al-Abr, Al-Wadiah, Marib and Mokha, along with attacks on vessels and boats transporting military equipment.
According to the group, the operations resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries, including among Saudi commanders and officers, while numerous warehouses and pieces of military equipment were burned or destroyed.
The Houthis further claimed that two military landing ships carrying weapons and Saudi forces were burned or sunk in Mokha. More than 10 military boats linked to Saudi forces and allegedly involved in piracy and looting in the Red Sea under Saudi orders were also burned or sunk, according to the statement.
“Saudi Arabia’s only option was to lift the blockade, implement previously agreed measures to end the conflict, pay salaries, withdraw foreign forces and leave Yemen’s natural resources to the Yemeni people.”
The statement warned Saudi Arabia against further escalation, declaring that “any comprehensive escalation will be met with comprehensive escalation.”
Separately, Agence France-Presse quoted a minister in Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, as warning that the Iran-backed Houthis were planning to seize coastal areas near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a major maritime passage connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. He called such a move “a threat to another vital shipping route following Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.” Three Houthi military sources and a spokesman for government forces stationed near Bab al-Mandab also told AFP that the Houthis were preparing to advance toward the coastal areas.
